


Murder, She Read!

by aserenitatum



Series: Unconnected AUs [9]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bookstore AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 15:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15246123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aserenitatum/pseuds/aserenitatum
Summary: “You know, when Chloe told me we were putting in a study area for a gorgeous science geek, I was a little worried but we're selling more books than ever and I’m pretty sure I have you to thank for that,” the blonde says and Stacie falters at that becausewait, what?aka the Bookstore AU you didn't know you needed





	Murder, She Read!

**Author's Note:**

> man, I don't even know. One moment this was a list of headcanons and then the next it was a fic. I don't know what to tell you; I don't understand my brain either
> 
> edit, because I've had three messages about this: yes, I know that Cornell is located in Ithaca but they also have an Engineering campus in New York City

Moving to New York City is pretty much a no-brainer for Stacie when she gets a full scholarship from Cornell’s engineering grad school. Finding a place to live is almost impossible but then at the last minute through a friend of a friend she ends up sharing an apartment in Williamsburg, and one afternoon she’s exploring the neighbourhood when she comes across a sign that says ‘Murder, She Read!’ and she chuckles at that decides to give the bookstore a chance if only for making her laugh. 

She’s pleasantly surprised to find a coffee corner in the bookstore and while she orders a latte, she glances around. 

The bookstore has a certain charm to it and Stacie takes a step back to have a better look, spots a staircase going down to the basement and she quickly glances back at the girl making her coffee and says, “I’ll be right back” before following the stairs down. She freezes on the last step, staring around at the huge basement completely packed with bookcases, shelves filled to the brim and Stacie’s eyes go wide with wonder. 

She remembers that there’s a coffee waiting for her upstairs so she regrettably leaves the impressive basement to go get her latte. The girl making her coffee pours her latte into a to-go cup and Stacie smiles gratefully as she takes it and wanders around the bookstore. 

“Can I help you with something?” 

Stacie turns at the melodic voice, smiles when she finds a cute redhead standing behind her, eyebrows raised and small smile on her face. 

“I was just having a look around,” Stacie says and the woman’s smile softens. 

“If you need any help just give me a yell,” she says and she steps around Stacie just as Stacie remembers the rows and rows of books downstairs. 

“Actually,” Stacie says and the woman stops in her tracks. “I know it’s a long-shot, but is there any chance you have the Völsunga saga?” 

The redhead’s expression shifts as she looks at a point in the distance, mulling it over and Stacie’s heart fills with hope. 

“I have heard of it,” the woman says and Stacie thinks it’s fate when the woman leads her down the stairs to the basement. 

The redhead leads Stacie through a labyrinth of bookcases and shelves, and Stacie loses all sense of direction but then the woman stops, fingers trailing over the spines of books as she mutters to herself. 

Her index finger stops suddenly, taps the spine of a book as she turns to Stacie with a small smile. 

“There you go!” she says but she doesn’t need to because Stacie’s already spotted the book and tears spring to her eyes. The woman’s face falls as she takes in Stacie’s expression, immediately putting a hand on Stacie’s arm as she steps closer, “Oh no, are you okay?” 

Her words snap Stacie out of her reverie and she reaches out to pull the book from the shelf, brushing her fingers against the cover. 

“Sorry, I just—” She chokes up as she turns the book over in her hands. “My dad used to have one and I’ve been looking for this for _years_.” 

“Oh, honey,” the woman says, squeezes Stacie’s shoulder and she finally reaches up to wipe away her tears, realising that crying in a bookstore in front of a total stranger might not be her best look. 

“Sorry,” Stacie says quickly. 

“No apologies needed. Just keep supporting independently-owned bookstores,” the redhead says with a wink before leaving Stacie. 

Stacie tries to make her way out of the basement but gets lost, realises she should have followed the redhead out but she ends up browsing the bookstore for another hour, her new book pressed tightly against her chest. 

When Stacie goes back upstairs to pay for her new book, she finds the redhead behind the counter and she quickly glances over at the small coffee corner. 

“Is it alright for people to come in and work here?” Stacie asks when the turns back to the woman, who smiles in response. 

“You’re more than welcome to.” 

That’s how Stacie ends up at Murder, She Read! almost every day, the close proximity to her place and quiet bustle just right for all her studying needs. She buys all of her books there and even has her school books ordered through the store. 

She gets to know some of the employees and after not even a week she discovers that the redhead who’d helped her — Chloe — actually co-owns the bookstore. 

One day Chloe comes into the store and she catches sight of Stacie in the coffee corner, books spread out over two small tables and a notebook precariously balanced on the edge. Stacie doesn’t notice that she’s being watched, reaches for her coffee and sips from it as she reaches out with a pencil to annotate something and Chloe’s eyes go wide when Stacie tries to put down her coffee cup and almost drops it on her notes. 

“So, I talked to my partner and we’ve decided to change the upstairs and make it a study area,” Chloe says the next day and Stacie looks up at Chloe with a huge smile. 

“Really?” 

“This is getting ridiculous, Stace,” Chloe says, gesturing to the organised chaos spilling over two tables. “One day you’re going to spill coffee all over a book and that’s a crime.” 

Knowing Chloe, Stacie doesn’t doubt the intensity of that statement one bit. Stacie doesn’t exactly forget Chloe’s words, but two weeks later nothing has changed and she doesn’t want to seem ungrateful so she doesn’t ask about the study area. 

“Stacie! You’re here!” Chloe says when Stacie comes into the bookstore two days later. 

“Yes?” Stacie says slowly, because she’s there every day. 

“Come with me!” Chloe instructs so Stacie does, following the woman through the bookstore and to the spiral staircase in the back corner. 

She’s standing on the second floor, mouth open with surprise at the sight because this is not what she’d been expecting when Chloe had said the words _study area_. 

“My partner said if we did it, we should do it properly,” Chloe says when she sees Stacie’s expression. 

The bookcases have been swapped out for newer, taller ones and its left half the room open, which they’ve filled with long sturdy tables and comfortable desk chairs and there are wall sockets everywhere and personal lights and there is even a table pushed against the large window that overlooks the street. 

“Wow.” 

 

* * *

 

Stacie starts spending way too much time at the bookstore now that there’s a designated study room. She learns where every section is and how books are stocked, finally figures out how to navigate the basement, and even makes suggestions on science books to acquire after Chloe finds out she’s pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and asks for her advice. 

Basically, she’s almost part of the family. _Almost_ , because she still hasn’t met Chloe’s partner. 

Stacie is downstairs getting a coffee refill, having a ten-minute break and chatting with Chloe when a short brunette comes in. 

“Hey, I heard there are workspaces upstairs?” she asks when she approaches the counter and Stacie watches with a wide grin as Chloe completely falters, grinning brightly at the brunette who seems surprised by the intensity of the gaze being levelled at her. 

“Yes! As long as you get a coffee, you’re free to stay as long as you want,” Chloe finally manages and Stacie sees the brunette’s face soften at Chloe’s sweet voice. 

“Okay, cool.” 

There’s a beat of silence then as the two stare at each other and Stacie hides her wide grin with her fist. 

When she works out that Chloe’s not going to say anything, Stacie jumps in. 

“The stairs are in the back, just over there,” Stacie says, pointing and the brunette’s gaze snaps to hers as if only just registering her presence. 

“Thanks.” She throws a smile at Chloe and walks past the counter towards the staircase. 

Chloe seems to be in a daze and Stacie stares at her and stays completely quiet, wants to see how long this is going to take. Chloe finally turns to her, minutes later, wide smile still firmly in place and Stacie laughs when she makes eye contact with Chloe. 

“You okay there, Shortcake? Need a minute?” she teases. 

“She was _so_ cute,” Chloe breathes and cute isn’t the word Stacie would have used to describe the brunette, but she doesn’t say that out loud. 

“You should ask her out,” Stacie recommends, sips from her coffee and Chloe’s smile grows even wider as she mulls over the words and Stacie has one of her questions answered because every time Chloe had mentioned her partner, Stacie had wondered whether she just meant business partners or more. 

The brunette comes down the staircase again, wallet in hand. 

Stacie spots her first so she leans over the counter and quickly whispers, “Go get ‘er, champ,” into Chloe’s ear before leaving with a quick giggle when Chloe’s eyes go wide. 

 

* * *

 

Stacie loves sitting by the big window, especially on rainy days because she focuses so well and gets so much work done. She’s shuffling papers, rearranging her notes when there’s a small tap on her shoulder. She looks up to find a blonde with the most dazzling green eyes staring down at her with a soft smile. 

“Hi, I’m sorry to interrupt but I need help with something and Chloe told me to come find you.” 

Stacie smiles and relaxes before the woman even finishes her sentence, dropping her notes as she gets up. 

“Is it a science thing?” Stacie asks with a sheepish smile because this is not the first time Chloe has asked for Stacie’s help in assisting clients. 

“I know nothing about stars except the ones in Hollywood,” Chloe had said after enlisting Stacie’s help for the third time, and Stacie doesn’t mind helping out. Chloe takes full advantage of this and every time a customer comes in with anything beyond a basic question about a science book, Stacie is called in to lend a hand — and Stacie can’t even be mad about it because she’s _always_ at the bookstore and she loves talking about science. 

The blonde woman nods so Stacie follows her down the stairs and towards a young girl waiting patiently by the counter. 

“Hi there,” Stacie says with a smile. “I’m Stacie, how can I help you?” 

“My name’s Katie,” the girl says with a small smile. “I really want to know more about space stuff.” 

“And I have no idea where to start with that,” the woman adds on and Aubrey shoots the blonde a smile as she leads the two towards the selection of books they have on astronomy. 

“Katie, I know just the thing for you,” Stacie says and the girl smiles brilliantly. 

Once they start going through some options, Katie’s expression drops and a sad smile takes over her face. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” 

“I’m only allowed to bring home two books,” Katie says with a wry smile that the blonde woman mirrors when Katie glances at her but that doesn’t deter Stacie at all and ten minutes later Katie happily goes up to the counter with her two new books to pay for them, the two adults trailing after her. 

Stacie’s about to say that she can write down the titles of the other books for Katie when the blonde speaks. 

“Thanks for helping out.” 

“It’s no trouble at all,” Stacie says with a small shrug. 

“You know, when Chloe told me we were putting in a study area for a gorgeous science geek, I was a little worried but you’ve attracted business and our science sales are up and I’m pretty sure I have you to thank for that.” 

Wait, _what?_

Chloe finishes ringing up Katie and puts her books in a bag and the girl turns back to the women. 

“Thank you so much, Stacie! Bye Ms. Aubrey!” she says happily, clutching her bag close. 

“Bye honey, say hi to your mom for me and Chloe,” Aubrey says with a soft smile as the girl turns to leave. 

“Wait, you’re Chloe’s partner?” Stacie finally exclaims and Chloe laughs loudly. 

“Aubrey,” the blonde says, holds out her hand. “And we’re _business_ partners.” 

“And best friends!” Chloe chimes in. 

Stacie’s still staring at Aubrey in total shock, but she quickly catches on and slides her hand into Aubrey’s, shaking it as she says, “Stacie.” 

“Nice to finally meet you, Stacie.” 

 

* * *

 

Stacie starts staying later and later at the bookstore and she quickly learns that Aubrey is usually the one who closes up. 

She’s glaring at her textbook, willing the words to make sense when she hears somebody coming up the stairs. 

“Stacie, it’s almost ten,” Aubrey says and Stacie smiles. The blonde hadn’t been there when Stacie had gone downstairs earlier for coffee and Stacie’s happy to hear her voice. “You’re not going to figure that out tonight.” 

There’s a teasing lilt to her voice and Stacie groans, drops her face onto her notes in frustration and Aubrey laughs softly, moves closer to sit on the chair next to Stacie and look over her textbook. 

“I have no idea what any of this means,” Aubrey muses to herself. 

“At this point, I don’t either,” Stacie whines and when she turns her head on the table to look sideways at Aubrey, her expression softens. “You look nice.” 

“Thanks.” 

“No but like, you look _really_  nice.” 

Aubrey smiles at that, smooths a hand over her skirt. “I had a date.” 

“So what are you doing here?” 

“Chloe had a thing so I have to close up.” 

“Oh, no, I’m sorry,” Stacie says, abruptly lifting her head and starting to pack up her books. “I’ll go. Did you just leave your date?” Aubrey opens her mouth to answer and Stacie’s eyes go wide and she starts chucking books into her backpack. “Oh no, is he downstairs? I’ll hurry and get out of your hair.” 

“Stacie!” Aubrey finally interrupts sharply and Stacie freezes, taken aback and a little turned on by the loud voice, her hand hovering over her notebooks. “Relax. It was a terrible date so I left early.” 

Stacie exhales sharply, not sure why she feels so relieved. “I’m sorry about your date.” 

“It’s okay,” Aubrey says with a shrug. “She said the only thing she reads is magazines so it was never going to work out anyway.” 

Stacie stutters to a halt at the female pronoun, turns to look at Aubrey and sees her in a whole new light. Aubrey’s smiling at her coyly, almost as if she can follow what’s going on in Stacie’s head. 

 

* * *

 

Stacie steps up her game. She stops wearing sweatpants and t-shirts to the bookstore, makes sure her clothes are always clean, and no longer leaves the house with dirty hair piled on top of her head in a bun. 

Beca teases her about her new and improved wardrobe and Stacie just rolls her eyes and doesn’t respond because she hadn’t really had anyone to impress before. 

She considers it a victory when she sees Aubrey staring at her ass one day when she’s wearing a new pair of tight jeans and she bends down to grab a book that’s fallen off the shelf. 

May finally rolls around and it’s an unusually hot spring and the warmth makes Stacie so happy so the first day the temperature hits 90 degrees, Stacie sets her plan into motion. 

She strolls into Murder, She Read! in strappy sandals, a short white skirt and a very low-cut tank top and she tries to hide her smile when, as she’s going up the stairs and her skirt rides up, she hears Aubrey drop a box of books. 

“I know what you’re doing, you sneak,” Chloe whispers to her two weeks and countless creative outfits later. “Keep doing it!” 

The air-conditioner upstairs starts being finicky, so Stacie takes up working downstairs again. She’s done with coursework for the year but her research is still going on so at least there aren’t as many books to make Chloe nervous. 

There’s a really comfortable chair in the coffee corner that Stacie pretty much marks as hers. She says it’s because of the way the light falls (which is partially true), but it’s mostly because she has a direct line of sight to the counter where Aubrey seems to be more often than not these days. 

Aubrey wears dresses every day and it’s honestly so distracting to Stacie. Stacie tries to keep a counter of how many different dresses Aubrey owns but there seems to be no end to them and she always looks amazing in each one. 

In honour of Aubrey’s never-ending parade of dresses, Stacie pulls out the one dress she owns from her closet. It’s white and a little too short but Stacie doesn’t let that stop her from dropping into her usual chair, throwing her legs over one of the armrests and getting comfortable. An hour later she squirms, realising her skin has stuck to the leather of the seat and she carefully unsticks her thighs from the chair, legs widening slightly and when she looks up, Aubrey’s staring at her long legs in a daze. 

Stacie smiles smugly and Aubrey glances up and is surprised to see Stacie staring right at her. She looks away quickly, pretends to be unfazed but Stacie can see the blush crawling over her cheeks. 

 

* * *

 

“How was your weekend?” Stacie asks, her elbow on the counter as she leans forward with interest, well-aware of how much cleavage is on display and Aubrey glances down as her resolve finally snaps. 

“Are you torturing me on purpose or just for fun?” 

“There’s definitely a purpose,” Stacie flirts, trailing her nails down Aubrey’s upper arm before flitting away to her usual chair. 

Aubrey shakes her head softly, looks up at the ceiling as if looking for strength before going back to work. 

“My partner will ring you up,” Chloe says a while later to a client, pointing at Aubrey. 

“You need to stop telling people we’re partners,” Aubrey throws over her shoulder and Chloe’s gasp is too loud to be genuine. 

“We _are_ partners,” Chloe protests, walking over with the woman she’d been helping. 

“The way you say it makes it sound like we’re gay,” Aubrey tries to argue but her eyes slide closed when she catches sight of Chloe’s gleeful expression and she already knows what’s coming. 

“But we are gay,” Chloe says. 

“Not with each other,” Aubrey points out and Chloe shrugs and the woman chuckles. 

Aubrey’s suddenly reminded that there’s a client waiting to pay and she flushes bright red. 

“I’m sorry you had to hear that,” she apologises, takes the woman’s books from her and starts ringing her up. 

“Oh, no apologies needed,” the woman says. “I’m just glad to hear we’re batting for the same team.” 

Aubrey laughs softly and Stacie’s head snaps up from where it’s buried in her book. 

“I’m Jane,” the woman says, extends her hand and Aubrey reaches over and shakes it. 

“Aubrey.” 

“That’s a beautiful name.” 

“Thank you,” Aubrey says with a coy smile and Stacie doesn’t like this _at all_. 

“Would you like to hang out sometime?” the woman asks. “I’m not usually this forward but since your business partner just confirmed you’re not together…” 

Aubrey laughs again at the words. “I’d really like that.” She finishes ringing up Jane, puts her books in a bag and reaches for a slip of paper, scribbling something down. “Here are your books,” Aubrey says, handing over the bag and then the slip of paper, “And that’s my number.” 

“Thank you so much,” Jane says with a smile. “I look forward to seeing you again.” 

“Likewise. Have a nice day,” Aubrey says as the woman leaves the store. 

Aubrey tries to suppress her smile when she glances at Stacie and sees the brunette frowning at her book, jealousy coming off her in waves. 

Neither of them notices Chloe do a small triumphant jig in the travel section. 

 

* * *

 

Stacie falls asleep in her chair twenty minutes before closing time and Aubrey is loathe to wake her up. 

She locks the front door and counts the till, all while periodically glancing at the brunette. She makes her way around the store and picks up any stray books, shelves all the new books and any of the books behind the counter. She runs through the inventory and through the list of books they’ve sold and it’s almost midnight when she’s finished and Stacie is still fast asleep. 

She packs up all her things and turns off all the lights except the ones in the coffee corner and she drops her bag on the chair next to Stacie’s as she crouches down in front of Stacie. 

She gently shakes Stacie awake, who moans and curls away from Aubrey, further into the chair and Aubrey laughs softly at how comfortable Stacie seems. 

“Five more minutes,” Stacie whines. 

“I’m locking the front door to the shop in two minutes so you’ll be stuck here,” Aubrey says softly and Stacie’s eyes snap open in surprise. 

She groans and quickly closes her eyes again, frowning as she rubs at her eyes. 

“Are you okay?” Aubrey asks. 

“Yeah, it’s just my contacts, I shouldn’t sleep with them in,” Stacie says, reaching for her bag with her eyes still firmly closed and rummaging around until she finds her glasses case and pops it open. 

She takes out her contacts and blinks a few times rapidly before putting on her glasses and with them on she can finally see Aubrey’s face again, sees the blonde completely soften. “What?” 

“You look adorable,” Aubrey says, drinking in the sight of a sleepy Stacie in thick-rimmed glasses. 

“Yeah they’re not very hot.” 

Aubrey doesn’t answer her immediately, tilts her head as she quirks her mouth in disagreement. She straightens up and Stacie watches her with a peculiar smile. 

Stacie crawls out of the chair and tosses her book into her bag as Aubrey grabs her own bag and walks over to the front door. 

“Aubrey?” 

“Yes?” Aubrey says, glancing up from where she’s unlocking the door. 

“Is it okay if I kiss you?” 

Aubrey looks at her with a dazzling smile and nods so Stacie closes the distance between them and leans in. She pauses at the last second but Aubrey’s already leaning forwards eagerly and then they’re kissing softly. 

Stacie sighs against her lips and Aubrey smiles so Stacie pulls her closer, wraps an arm around Aubrey’s waist and Aubrey slides her hand up, nails raking at the nape of Stacie’s neck as they trade slow kisses. 

“Was this part of your plan?” Aubrey asks when they break apart.

“Let’s go with yes,” Stacie says and when Aubrey laughs, she kisses her again. 

 

* * *

 

“Where are you going?” Aubrey whines when Stacie pulls away from her. 

Stacie leans in and quickly kisses the blonde’s shoulder before sliding out of bed. 

“I want to see your collection,” Stacie throws over her shoulder and Aubrey barely has time to appreciate Stacie’s naked body before the woman is gone. 

“That can’t wait?” Aubrey says to an empty room, but she gets out of bed anyway and follows Stacie into her living room. 

“You could open a bookstore with all the volumes you’ve got here,” Stacie says, staring at the literal wall of books, chuckling at her own joke and Aubrey rolls her eyes. 

“These are not for sale,” Aubrey says strongly and Stacie turns to her, leans back against the wall of books behind her, grinning when she sees Aubrey’s eyes trail down her body heatedly, eagerly returning the favour. 

“Which ones are your favourite?” Stacie manages.

“All my children’s books,” Aubrey says, stepping closer and Stacie moves out of the way to let Aubrey roam her books. 

She presses herself against Aubrey’s back, smiles when the blonde leans back against her and Stacie quickly kisses her shoulder as Aubrey’s arm reaches out and pulls a book from the shelf. 

“First edition of Winnie the Pooh,” Aubrey says, brushing her fingers against the protective sleeve and when she glances at Stacie, the woman is staring at the book with wide eyes. 

“Holy shit,” Stacie breathes. “That’s amazing.”  

Aubrey smiles and puts the book back. 

“You collect rare children’s books?” Stacie says and Aubrey nods. “You’re amazing.” 

Aubrey twists in Stacie’s loose embrace, pressing even closer as she leans up to kiss Stacie, hand grasping at Stacie’s hip to keep her close. Stacie deepens the kiss, licks into Aubrey’s mouth persistently when Aubrey presses her thigh up between Stacie’s legs. 

“Oh,” Aubrey says, breaking away breathlessly. “I have something you’ll like.” 

“Yeah you do,” Stacie flirts, kissing down her neck, fingers roaming along Aubrey’s back. 

“No,” Aubrey says, breath hitching when Stacie bites down. “Book.” 

Stacie smiles against her skin, chuckling as she lifts her head. “What?” 

“I have a book I know you’ll like,” Aubrey manages, licks her lips and Stacie’s eyes drop to follow the small movement. Before she can say anything, Aubrey’s gone, disappeared from the room and Stacie’s left holding nothing but air. 

“Okay?” she whispers to herself. 

Aubrey is back in a flash, holding a heavy book in one hand and she slips her hand into Stacie’s and leads the woman back to the bedroom. 

“Are you going to read to me in bed?” Stacie says with a grin, crawling back into bed. “That’s hot.” 

“It’s not a first edition or anything like that, but they’re incredibly rare to find,” Aubrey explains, completely ignoring Stacie’s flirting as she hesitates by the edge of the bed. “But you already know that.” 

Stacie’s expression shifts when she glances down at the book in Aubrey’s hands. 

“Is that—?” 

“Chloe messed up,” Aubrey says, interrupting her and Stacie looks up at her with a frown. 

“What?” 

“The first day you came into the store? Chloe messed up. The Völsunga was never supposed to be shelved,” Aubrey explains. 

“What are you saying?” Stacie asks, voice thick and Aubrey finally meets her eyes. 

“Stacie, I don’t want it back,” Aubrey says immediately when she sees tears pooling in Stacie’s eyes. 

She tosses the book onto the mattress and climbs into bed, settling next to Stacie. 

“I have the whole collection,” Aubrey says, before looking away and tilting her head. “Well, _had_. I brought the Völsunga to the bookstore to compare it against some other old Icelandic books and I had to leave in a rush and left it behind the counter and Chloe thought it was a returned book so she shelved it.” 

“It’s yours?” 

“Yes.” 

“I have to give it back,” Stacie insists even though she sounds like she really, really doesn’t want to. 

Aubrey shakes her head. “No, you don’t.” 

“It wasn’t for sale.” 

“Stacie,” Aubrey says softly. “It obviously means a great deal to you. I want you to have it.” 

“How do you—?” Stacie doesn’t manage much more than that, voice cracking and Aubrey reaches out to wipe away some tears that have spilled over Stacie’s cheeks. 

“Chloe told me you cried when you held it and told her you’d been looking for years. Anybody who wants a book that badly deserves to keep it.” 

“How long have you known?” 

“Pretty much since the day you bought it,” Aubrey says. 

“Oh my god,” Stacie says, wiping at her tears. “Now I feel like such an asshole for torturing you all those months.” 

Aubrey laughs loudly and it breaks the tension in the room. 

“It’s okay, I enjoyed seeing you try to seduce me.” 

“I mean, it worked,” Stacie teases, sniffs briefly as she blinks away the last of her tears, gesturing between them. 

“Yeah, it did,” Aubrey admits, leans in to kiss Stacie. 

“Thank you,” Stacie mumbles against her lips. “For letting me keep your book.” 

“Will you tell me why it’s so special to you one day?” 

“Yes.” 

“Okay,” Aubrey says, crawls onto Stacie’s lap and kisses her again. 

“What’s that other book?” Stacie tries to ask, points at the hardcover on the mattress next to her thigh, wants to get it out of the way before they go another round. 

“Edda in English,” Aubrey says, lips moving down Stacie’s neck and nipping at the skin there. 

“Yeah, that can wait,” Stacie says, reaching for the book and putting it on the nightstand. She wraps an arm around Aubrey and flips them over, pressing Aubrey into the mattress with her body and the blonde goes down with a sharp laugh that Stacie silences with her mouth. 

“Glad we’re in agreement.” 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> comments make me so happy <3


End file.
